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Candy is pretty much the physical manifestation of love. This universal truth includes, of course, the spoils within that most timeless of all Valentine’s Day gifts: the enorm-o heart-shaped chocolate boxes that you see in gas station mini-marts and high-end chocolatiers alike every February. Unfortunately, for all the sugary splendor inside of them, there are also at least a few flavors that are total duds (and I don’t mean the deliciously tooth-jamming ones of the Milk variety). As quickly as a toffee caramel can crank up my joy levels, biting into, say, a coconut-filled dark chocolate or, God forbid, a dreaded orange crème (I shudder at the very thought, my dudes) can rapidly send me into a spiral of confusion, terror, and pain, which isn’t exactly the intended effect when you’re looking to give someone a token of your ardor. The truth is, while store-bought boxes of candy are often rad, they can also be a minefield exploding with gross espresso-scented garbage chocolate, and I’m not always trying to take that kind of a risk when I could be shoving more identifiably delicious candy down my neck with abandon.

But it doesn’t have to be this way! Today, I’ll show you how to make alterations to any ol’ heart-shaped box that will inspire all of the joy and none of the orange crème–centric anger and sadness in its recipient, whether you’re giving your gift to a paramour, friend crush, or much-beloved cool aunt/uncle. Removing the gross flop-candies and filling their empty compartments with tiny treasures says, “I know you well enough that I’m sparing you from eating almonds (or whatever thing they always spit out—this is different for everyone) and would also like you to have this fantastic dog-shaped eraser instead,” and it will cost you about $10 and an hour of your time if you finagle it right. It’s basically better than a conflict-free gem proffered by Harry Styles, and, as if you needed extra points, you can also collage the lid with personalized designs to make your loved one swoon even harder. Let’s begin, my candy hearts!

Little gifts, like rings, figurines, or temporary tattoos—anything that would fit in one of those gumball-type vending machines at the grocery store will work. For best results, hit up your local dollar store and see what you find.

Single-color tissue or wrapping paper (optional).

Magazine cut-outs, printed-out pictures, stickers, doilies, washi tape, and/or any other cute paper, felt, or cloth scraps you can decorate the lid with; you can use basically anything that’s kinda flat and glue-down-able.

An assortment of plastic gems like these, which you can get at most craft stores (optional).

Stick-on glitter letters like these, also available at many craft stores (optional).

Scissors.

A glue stick.

How to do it:

Step One:

Excise the candies your giftee doesn’t care for from your box, whatever these may be—you know this person better than I do! If you’re altering one of those senselessly cruel varieties that doesn’t come with a flavor-identifying guide, there are ways to tell, generally, which chocolates are which.

Some rules of thumb: Square ones with relatively smooth tops are almost always caramels, the elongated oval or rectangular log-lookin’ things are usually some kind of Butterfinger-esque hard toffee affair, circular ones in paper cups are likely to involve a nut cluster situation of some sort, and round ones with domed tops typically hold a mysterious creamy filling—whether it be raspberry custard (ugh) or chocolate créme (OK, fine, I guess)—inside their enigmatic outer shells. Rookie writer Gabby, pictured above, deeply regretted taste-testing these for me after getting stuck with marshmallow, which, as she said, she is avowedly “not about.”

Step Two:

Fill the empty indentations with little baubles. I decided a sensually festive centerpiece for my box would be a plastic toilet with a fully posable lid, which I accessorized with one half of a “best friends” heart necklace, a minuscule statuette of a boy whose valentine is a bowling ball, a button romanticizing the follies of youth, a worried-looking ring with blue hair, an enamel horse pin, a clip-on earring depicting a pink cartoon bird, and a tiny magnifying glass (not pictured).

Step Three:

Put the newly stocked bottom half of your box aside and decorate that lid!! Before beginning my collage, I glued a single color of tissue paper onto the whole outside of the box lid to create a uniform surface, but do whatever the hell you want, ya little loose cannon. I will tell you this, though: When you’re adhering your assorted paper or fabric accoutrements to the box, it’s easiest to start with the collage elements that take up the most surface area, then incorporate the smaller stuff on top.

Step Four:

Add a little ~razzmatazz~ if you see fit. I gussied up my design with various plastic jewels, which I glued on more or less at random, and a few stick-on glitter letters, which I used to spell out “PAL” on the center of the lid. Fill any remaining bare spots with your tiniest stickers and pictures.

Step Five:

CHECK OUT YOUR SICK HANDIWORK (and, if you can, get Rookie writer Hazel to glamorously model it, as I did). The best part of this gift is that it’s like a one-two combo punch, except it’s a loving gesture instead of a physical assault: Your recipient will be touched and excited that you made them a customized keepsake box, and even more blown away when they discover there’s also a fun-size treasure chest lurking within! DOUBLE THE DELIGHT, NONE OF THE REVOLTING CHERRY CORDIALS. So enjoy, and have a very happy Valentine’s Day, ya little hopeless romantics. May you spend it laying waste to a box of chocolates or other sugary delights with people you love, or at least like-like. ♥

If I gave this to anyone they would just think I had tried to cover up the fact that i had eaten the other chocolates……which would probably be a pretty safe guess.

Amy Rose SpiegelFebruary 11th, 20144:10 PM

IT WORKS ON EVERY LEVEL.

megggggggggghanFebruary 11th, 20144:20 PM

love!!!!!!

NobreFebruary 11th, 20144:42 PM

I guess the word for this piece is ADORE! Not the first to say this but still my word

lizamsFebruary 11th, 20145:09 PM

Amy Rose, this is a fabulous DIY project for me to mess up my room with :)

interestingrosieFebruary 11th, 20145:10 PM

such a cute idea, though we have the exact opposite chocolate tastes, give me all the orange creme!! If we teamed up we’d be unstoppable

vivianlspFebruary 11th, 20145:15 PM

Hmm… Am I the only one who likes the weird fillings? I don’t know about you guys, but coconut sounds pretty appealing to me ^^

soretudaaaFebruary 12th, 201410:07 AM

coconut and chocolate is my idea of heaven

soviet_kitschFebruary 11th, 20146:12 PM

i can’t imagine how the coconut and orange creme AREN’T your favourites. i trusted you, amy rose!!!!
(also i have that “best friends” half heart!)

ladyjennaFebruary 11th, 20147:16 PM

Business plan: customizable chocolate boxes. Get on it, pantsuit wearers of the future

ArmyOfRabbitsFebruary 11th, 20149:58 PM

Totally! A pre-made papier mache Valentine box from a craft store would be great. :D

girlswithcatsFebruary 11th, 201410:29 PM

Hazel you are the prettiest heart-shaped chocolate box model in the world *3*

sungiantFebruary 12th, 201412:23 AM

this is sad tho because they will be expecting so much chocolate and will be disappointed to find 3 pieces. i love it, tho it breaks my heart

MattieFebruary 12th, 20147:46 AM

Where am I supposed to find things like miniature plastic toilets? I feel like I should have a box filled with vintage cards, old magazine cut outs, and miniatures galore but no matter how many goodwills or savers I search the world does not want me to make strange and peculiar crafts, and my heart is basically broken. Where are these magic shops filled with these beautiful gems? HELP!

sonnentanzFebruary 12th, 20149:06 AM

THIS IS LOVELY!! … now I just need someone special to give it to

PaolaFebruary 12th, 201411:34 AM

Thank you for this idea!! (LOVIN THE MODELS TOO YALL ROOKIE WRITERS ARE GORG)

EtimaFebruary 12th, 201412:18 PM

gotta do this for other stuff as well tho!

Chloe22February 12th, 20141:02 PM

WHY CAN’T I GET INVITED TO DECORATE CHOCOLATE BOXES WITH AMY ROSE?! gaaaahhhh! You should have video-d it!

DymondMagFebruary 12th, 20143:22 PM

delightfully crappy plastic things <3 this is beyond cute

painting_the_roses_pinkFebruary 12th, 20146:38 PM

YES THANK YOU SO MUCH AMY ROSE!!!

My best friend and I are celebrating our 9 year anniversary next friday and I’m totally going to do this with the half price chocolates I’m buying her!
Being the cheap, I mean money savvy ladies her and I are we decided a while ago that we should hold our best friend anniversary the friday after valentines day to capitalize on all the discounted lovey dovey goodies!
We’re going to a fancy pants restaurant and then seeing “Vampire Academy”, the movie adaptation of the book series we loved in middle school.

Thank you again for the inspiration!!

amescsFebruary 12th, 20147:08 PM

i love this idea it’s super cute and looks like a lot of fun!! also i just got some super hardcore nostalgia from those lil’ plastic toilets, because the candy that came in them made up 100% of my diet aged 4-10

bitnotgoodyeahFebruary 13th, 20144:40 PM

Are you more of a plain chocolate person? Because if you don’t like coconut/marshmallow/orange/cherry/raspberry you’re kind of out of luck when it comes to assortment boxes. I’d happily take all but the toffee and cherry/raspberry off your hands ;)